The Dixie Queen had been so badly holed that there was no keeping her afloat. The paddles continued to drive her until she went sideways down the broad river. When they came to a turn, Cody said, “Look, we’re going to pile up on that sandbar over there!”
As he had guessed, the Dixie Queen nosed into the sandbar, which was barely visible in the night by the light of a brilliant moon. Then the whole craft swung sideways and Cody said, “Let’s get off of the boat before the current takes her.”
They were not the only ones with that idea. Not many of the passengers, and fewer of the show members, could swim, so as Laurie and Cody were leaving the ship, there was a full-scale exodus. The crew lowered the gangplank for the stock, and Laurie and Cody rode their horses down to the sandbar. As soon as he saw that she was safe, he said, “I’ll go back and see what can be done with the stock.”
“Be careful,” she warned. “Remember, you can’t swim.”
Cody went back and did what he could, but when the animals were loosed, some of them went to the sandbar, and others plunged immediately into the river. A few of them that had managed to land on the sandbar found their way to the woods that lay beyond. Many were swept down the river, and the terrified screams of the horses pulled at Cody’s heart.
He helped get as many as he could off the boat, but it was impossible to save all of them. He never forgot that night—nor did anyone else.
When dawn finally broke, they stood shivering on the sandbar, huddled together in the cold, January breeze. They saw the current take the wreck of the Dixie Queen, catch her, and swing her out. She floated down a hundred yards, then slowly began to sink.
“There she goes,” Buffalo Bill said morosely. He looked old in the gray light of morning and shook his head. “This is worse than an Indian attack, I think.”
They waited, and an hour later another steamboat, the Natchez Belle, came down and carried them all to the next town. Colonel Cody arranged for as many men as possible to find the few horses that were left and try to round up what was left of the stock. Cody was one of these. He worked hard, along with Con Groner, Buck Bronson, and Cowboy Johnny Baker. Colonel Cody sent a scout back for the stock and his riders, and when they finally pulled into town, Cody stared at the scanty herd. “Is this all?” he groaned.
“That’s all we could get, Colonel,” Cowboy Johnny said. “They’re scattered out in the woods all over the place. What are we gonna do?”
The star and owner stared at the remains of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show and said, “I wired Nate in New Orleans.”
“What did he say?” Groner demanded.
Buffalo Bill shook his head, and his lips curled fiercely. “You know Nate. He said, ‘Come on and we’ll put on the show in New Orleans.’ So”—he looked around wearily—”all we have to do is find a herd of buffalo and new riding stock.”
They left that evening on a side-wheeler headed for New Orleans, and as the boat moved downriver, Sam said to Cody, “Well, what do you think of show business now?”
Cody looked at him and, with a broad grin on his face, said, “It’s not quite as glamorous as I thought—but it beats being in a jail or a hospital by a huge sight! Come on, Sam, let’s get some rest. I got a feeling when we get to New Orleans, that’ll be the end of sleeping for a while!”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Cody Finds a Place
“Does Jim Logan ever talk much about himself to you, Leona?”
Con Groner had stopped work long enough to have a cup of coffee between acts, coming to sit down beside Leona. His question had come so suddenly that it surprised her, and she looked up at him curiously. “Not much,” she shrugged. “But then, I don’t talk much about my past to him either. Why do you want to know, Con?”
Groner shrugged carelessly. “Just wondered. I guess most of us in this business don’t like to talk much about our past. I sure don’t.” He sipped the coffee, then murmured quietly, “You’ve been pretty close to him since we got to New Orleans and put this new show together. You’re not gettin’ too thick with him I hope, Leona.”
Leona’s eyes turned hard, and she said, “You jealous, Con? We had our time, but it’s over.”
“Just a mild warning. He’s like all the rest of us cowboys. Not much future. Like to see you do better than some two-bit cattle roper.” Hastily, he added, “Not aimed at Logan, of course. Just that we’re all pretty much the same in this business.” He rose and left without a word, leaving Leona to stare after him.
“I wonder what that was all about?” she asked. Sitting there, she thought about the days that had passed since Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show had opened in New Orleans. It had taken a mammoth effort to round up buffalo, stock, and equipment—but somehow Nate Salsbury and Colonel Cody had managed between the two of them. Everyone had worked until they were ready to drop, and at one point Leona had told Laurie that she hoped she never would have to work the hardstock again.
Finally, she rose and left the cook tent, wandering over to the corral. As she had suspected, Cody was there helping to handle the horses that constantly were on the move in and out of the arena. She watched as he was busy, unaware of her, and thought, Most men with those good looks have more vanity. Jim doesn’t know how good-looking he is. She was a connoisseur of male attractiveness and rested her eyes on the pleasing symmetry in the smoothly rounded shoulders and lean hips of the tall rider as he moved easily among the horses, speaking a word here, quieting them, removing saddles. He’s good with horses, Leona thought, and a bleak smile touched her lips, but he sure doesn’t care much about women. At least not about this woman. After the show was over, she found him and smiled up into his face. “Let’s go downtown, Jim. I’m bored with this place.”
“I’d like to, Leona, but Colonel Cody wanted me to work some with this new stock. Some of them are too feisty and need a little extra breaking. Maybe later.”
Leona hesitated, then said, “I’ve been meaning to ask you something, Jim.” A smile came to her lips, and she added, “I just wanted to be sure you’d be around long enough to do what I need.”
“What is it, Leona?”
“I need some help with my act,” she said. “I want to have someone to help me reload and to throw the balls up for me so I don’t have to do two things at once.” She looked at him and shrugged, raising her eyebrows, saying, “I know that’s not a very glamorous offer, but I really do need somebody. I’d be glad to pay you.”
Cody grinned crookedly. “No need of that,” he said. “I’ll be glad to do what I can.”
She was pleased with his response, her face reflecting a genuine satisfaction. “We’ll need to practice a little bit. Could you spare some time tonight after supper? We’ll come out here, and I’ll show you what I need.”
“Sure,” said Cody.
As soon as she walked off, Sam came ambling up. He had something on his mind, Cody saw. Usually Novak spoke right up, but for some reason he was having difficulty. Finally, Cody said, “Well, spit it out, Sam. You’re making a speech to yourself. What is it?”
“Oh, none of my business, really—but I been watching Leona. Don’t want to say anything against her, you understand, but she’s not what the doctor might recommend for a long-term relationship.”
“Been listening to a little gossip, Sam?” Cody asked sharply.
“I guess. But so have you. She seems like a good woman.” Sam halted, then said, “No. That’s not right. She’s not a good woman. She’s been with every cowboy in the show.” Then he stopped again and said, “No, that’s not right. Oh, confound it! I’m not really worried about her—it’s you I’m thinking about.”
“Funny,” Cody murmured. He smoothed the mane of a palomino, then turned to face Sam Novak. “Laurie told me the same thing.”
“You should listen to her.”
“I did listen to her, and I’m listening to you too, Sam.” He shook his head almost wearily. “So I’m telling you like I told Laurie. Nothing will ever come of it. I�
�ve got no future before me.”
Novak looked up quickly, his mouth tightening. “You know as well as I do that Leona’s not lookin’ for the future. She’s one of these that lives for right now.”
Cody flushed, for he had thought the same thing. He had a great affection for his friend, but somehow the words had gotten on his nerves. “Why don’t you talk to her? If you think she needs religion, just go tell her.”
Suddenly Sam smiled. “Why, I’ve already done that.”
Cody stared at him and asked quickly, “What did she say?”
“Told me to mind my own business.” Sam grinned widely and said, “I get that answer a lot, though. Sorry, Cody. I didn’t mean to butt in, but—well, I think a lot of you. Wouldn’t want to see you get shipwrecked.” He turned abruptly and walked away. Later that day, Sam spoke with Laurie and told her of his conversation with Cody.
She shook her head, her eyes bright with anger. “He can’t see what she is. He’s so blind that he doesn’t realize that she’s like a black widow spider that eats her mates. She’s a man-killer, Sam, if I’ve ever seen one!”
“Well, I’ve never seen too many of that breed, but in that I guess you’d be right,” Novak said. He would have said more, but at that moment McGonigal came ambling up and said, “Laurie, you got a minute?”
Sam nodded, left, and Laurie said abruptly, “What do you think of Leona Aimes, Mac?”
If the question was a surprise to McGonigal, he did not show it. Something flickered in his eyes, but he merely came over and sat down across from Laurie. “I don’t think there’s much mystery to the woman,” he said. He was usually rowdy, but noticing Laurie’s mood, he held back his thoughts of Leona. Instead, he looked at her quietly, collecting his thoughts, and said, “You’re fond of the boy, aren’t you, Laurie?”
“Why—!” Laurie put her hand on her cheek, feeling it burn, and could not read his eyes. “He has problems, Mac. I don’t think he needs to compound them by getting mixed up with a woman like that.”
“Most men go around looking for a woman like that, at least before they’re married,” Mac observed. “She’s the kind that men want for a fling—but not for a wife. You’re not thinking the two are serious?”
“Oh, I don’t know.” Laurie bit her lower lip, a sign that Mac had learned to recognize long before. “It’s none of my business anyway,” she snapped.
“You can fool other people, Laurie. You can fool me and you can fool your parents, but don’t ever try to fool yourself.”
Laurie glanced up at him, startled, and shook her head with a brief smile. “I could never fool you, Mac. You know me too well!”
McGonigal sat there admiring the young woman as always, not only for her clean, good looks, but for her sharp mind and bright spirit. She was a woman of purity, which he also admired, and he longed to say a word that would encourage her. Finally, he sighed, “Well, you and me, Laurie, we’ll get God’s ear—and we’ll talk Him into fixing that young man!”
Laurie stared at him. “Why, you can’t talk God into doing something!”
“Who told you that?” McGonigal demanded. Leaning back in his chair he shook his head at her regretfully. “You’ve been neglecting your Bible, girl! Don’t you remember that God told Moses He was going to destroy the Israelites after they made them golden calves? Do you remember that?”
“Why, yes. Of course.” When Mac got that look on his face, Laurie knew it was better to listen than argue.
“Now then, do you remember, darlin’, what Moses did? Why, he argued with God! All you have to do is read it. Even told God to kill him instead of the others.” A fine humor showed on the face of the small Irishman. “And he wasn’t the only one. Do you recollect when God told Abraham that he was going to destroy Sodom, and Abraham began to argue? You know, he said, ‘Suppose there’s a whole bunch of righteous folks in Sodom, would you destroy it?’ ”
Laurie leaned forward, placing her chin in her palm, listening. “And he kept arguing God down, didn’t he?” said Mac. “Until finally he got to if there were ten righteous men?
“You know, Laurie,” McGonigal said quietly, “I think Abraham could have saved the whole city if he had just gone a little further. Why, God would have saved that city for one man if Abraham had just had enough gumption to keep on arguing!”
Laurie looked at him, her eyes serious. Her lips were firm as she thought about what he’d said, and she ran her hand across her dark hair. “Maybe there’s something to that, Mac. I remember the woman who had a daughter who was sick. You remember, she came to Jesus and asked Him to heal her, and you’re right, when He said no, she just asked again. Three times, wasn’t it?”
“That’s right, darlin’, and that just proves to me that God wants to be argued with. Why, He’s got stones if He wants to throw things, He’s got fish if He wants to count up in the billions, but who does He have to talk to? Angels and men! I guess He’s caught up on His talk with angels—but I noticed He likes mighty well to talk to men. And what a shame it is, we’re not quite so anxious to talk to Him!”
Laurie bit her lip, then shook her head doubtfully. “Mac, do you remember when Cody first came here? He was in trouble, but I lied to that detective—and so did you and Sam. That wasn’t right, was it?”
Mac shook his head, regret in his eyes. “No, it wasn’t. I think all three of us were taken off guard.”
“Do you think God has forgiven us all?”
“Did you ask Him to?”
“Yes!”
“Then that settles it,” Mac said firmly. “First John says if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. Don’t let the devil weigh you down with guilt, Laurie. It was wrong, but God always stands ready to take our sins from us. That’s what the cross is all about—not just sins in the past—but all our sins.”
Laurie rose and smiled ruefully down at the small figure, then put her hand over on his shoulder. “Do you think you’ll ever get me raised, Mac?” she asked.
He covered her hand with his own, saying, “You and me, we’ll back God into a corner, and He’ll have to do something about that young man! We just won’t give Him any rest till He does, all right?”
“All right, Mac,” agreed Laurie.
****
Later that same afternoon Buffalo Bill and Nate Salsbury were walking through the arena. They had been talking about some dates that they had to meet down the road, when all of a sudden Colonel Cody stopped and said, “Look at that, will you, Nate?”
Salsbury looked over and watched. Standing over to one side of the arena was a young man spinning a rope. At first, he just made a simple loop that circled again and again, and then suddenly it began to rise up and down and around. Neither the colonel nor Salsbury had ever seen a rope obey the will of a roper as that one did. It seemed almost an extension of the man’s body. With a mere flick of the wrist, Jim Logan was able to turn the rope in any direction. “He’s not bad, is he, Nate?” whispered Colonel Cody.
“Not bad? With a little polish, we could use him in the show. Look at that!”
Cody, unaware of the two men, had gone to a platform that was used sometimes for some of the riding tricks. Clambering up on it, he began to make a circle with his loop, and as the two men watched, the loop got bigger and bigger. Finally, when it was spun out to its full length, Cody stood there with a forty-foot circle spinning around. Then slowly it began to grow smaller until it circled tightly around his body, and with a flourish, he gave it a twist as it rose in the air, then came to rest by his side.
“Logan—!” yelled the colonel.
Cody turned quickly and saw the two men approaching him. Both were smiling, and Buffalo Bill said, “I reckon you’re about ready to do an act, aren’t you? You got any more tricks like that?”
“I can do a few,” admitted Cody.
“All right,” Salsbury said with enthusiasm. “Here’s what we’ll do. We’ll introduce you as the lassoing sheriff.” His eyes gleamed as he began
to spin castles in the air. “You were a sheriff in one of the toughest towns in the West, and you never even carried a gun.”
“What did I carry?” Cody asked curiously.
“Why, you carried a rope, and every time anybody gave you any problems, you dropped a loop on ’em and hauled ’em off to jail.” Salsbury grinned broadly, and Buffalo Bill was doing the same. Nate elaborated on the scheme. “You’re so fast with that rope that you cleaned up Tombstone. Every time a man drew on you, that rope was there to snatch it out of his hand or to rope his arms to his side. You’ll be the Roping Sheriff, Jim Logan.”
Suddenly, Cody had a picture of himself before thousands of people, but then blinked as he realized the possible danger that could bring. “I—I don’t think I could do anything like that, Mr. Cody.”
“Of course you can, my boy!” The flamboyant showman waved him off, saying, “Show us what you’ve got, and we’ll put you in the ring. Maybe even tonight.”
Cody tried to talk his way out of it, but the two men would not listen. Reluctantly, he showed them all his tricks, and within a few minutes they had worked out a brief routine. Convinced that they had another good act to add to the show, they slapped Logan on the back and walked out of the arena.
Later, he mentioned it to Sam, who said, “I think that’s great!”
“But somebody may recognize me, Sam!”
Sam burst out with a guffaw. “Recognize you? You’ll have on a fancy outfit, your hat’ll be pulled down over your eyes, and they’ll be a hundred feet away, most of them. How are they gonna recognize you?” He continued to talk, and finally Cody was convinced that it might work.
All afternoon he was nervous, but that night most of the other members of the show were caught off guard, because neither Salsbury nor Colonel Cody had mentioned the new act to anyone. But when Colonel Buffalo Bill Cody announced, “And now, the Roping Sheriff of Tombstone, Jim Logan,” Cody swallowed hard, rode out into the lights, and for eight minutes, went through his routine. It included roping a gun out of the hand of one of the cowboys, roping four horsemen simultaneously as they rode in a circle, and the finale came when they turned Old Thunder loose, and he roped him by one foreleg, throwing him down again.
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